What Is A Seasoned Down Payment?

If you’ve just unexpectedly come into some extra cash, you may be tempted to immediately put it towards a home so you can start accruing equity as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible. Most, but not all, lenders require at least a portion of your down payment to come from what they call seasoned funds. Typically, seasoned funds are those that have been in your possession at least 60 days. Lenders will require a paper trail to confirm how and when you acquired the funds used for your down payment.

Usually, at least half of your down payment must come from seasoned funds. However, rules vary by lender, both with the percentage of funds that must be seasoned and the length of “seasoning.” Fortunately, this mainly applies to windfall gains, and there are other methods of acquiring money that don’t need them to be seasoned. If the money was acquired via borrowing from your savings or retirement account, this is generally allowed, though you should discuss the tax implications of this with an accountant. Some lenders will allow gifts to be used for a down payment. Some don’t allow it at all, and those that do will probably require a written confirmation from the person gifting the money.

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